October 2007 Archives

Happy Halloween.
This is very unusual. The last two days in a row I've drawn a horse in each cartoon. Typically one of my least favorite things to draw, I avoid putting horses in my cartoons. I guess I'm confronting my phobia because I think these two look pretty good.

Ron Deaton, the head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, retired from his position last week after an extended medical leave. Mr. Deaton suffered a heart attack while on vacation over the summer and has been in recovery ever since. Here is our story.

We all wish him and his family the best. That said, Mr. Deaton was the ultimate insider and dealmaker at LA City Hall for over 20 years, heading and operating out of the Chief Legislative Analyst’s office. The Chief Legislative Analyst is an unelected position and during Deaton’s tenure one that functioned in almost total secrecy. Operating from the shadows he molded city councilmen, mayors, police chiefs…you name it. A unique and colorful character, I sat down with Deaton several years ago. Here are two sketches from our meeting:

Most cartoonists utilize themes throughout their work when tackling certain issues. One of mine is the statue or memorial. I frequently place politicians, leaders and scoundrels up on pedestals in order to knock them down. I remember Deaton in yesterday’s cartoon:

Note that I used my sketches from our meeting as a reference to create his caricature. And here is the preliminary sketch:

Some readers have responded to Friday's "Fire Accomplished" cartoon. They aren't happy.

"The Daily News has finally gone too far ...

I do not want to help finance this paper with my subscription money
unless there is an apology printed in the paper in the next few
days...cancel my subscription"

And another....

"I do not know what possessed your editorial staff to publish
O'Connor's cartoons this week. To make fun of the fires was bad
enough, especially considering the loss of life and property. But
today's cartoon was so far over the top - President Bush standing in
front of a banner that reads "Fires Accomplished" - that I no longer
will be a subscriber to your newspaper. In my opinion, O'Connor is a
horse's arse and your editors should fire him and then resign in
shame."

And one more about my horse's arse......

"I realize how far your editorial staff has sunk into the depths of unreasoning rage at the President. I am a retired journalist, and I'd just like to tell you that your unremitting, undisguised liberal bias is a disgrace to serious journalists. Shame, shame on all of
you. "

These days, I find my work exits in multiple states in different mediums. This is exhilarating and at times exhausting. Everyone knows the future is headed online (the world wide internets that Al Gore invented) and the way we view and receive information is changing. The real world however, seems to be hanging on.

My cartoons begin with a concept and develop over a series of steps into a finished political cartoon. An idea is a hard thing to pin down. This is where most of us go onto some vague explanation of how a cartoon idea comes into being. The truth is…..no one really knows. It’s one of life’s mysteries. Ideas come from association, reading, thinking, overhearing….a host of places. Sometimes I stare blankly into space, thinking. Other times I read something and get mad. That usually leads to an idea in a sketch book…..

The wild fires that have scorched California over the last few days have been severe. Of course, every politician is caught in a catch-22; show up and pander to grief stricken victims, or don’t make an appearance and be branded cold-hearted neoconservative-type who could give a damn about the suffering of others. The president was here this week, showing he cares, and I thought it would be relevant to refer to an infamous moment that took place off the coast of San Diego several years ago.

Having this idea approved by my editor, I run to my office and get out some good paper, drawing with pencil first, then brush and ink, following with with some felt tip pens. This is an exiting part of my day. Here’s the inked version….

After the drawing is scanned into Photoshop I tweak, adjust and move the elements into the standard newspaper editorial cartoon space. The Daily News prints my cartoons each day in black and white:

For the internet and color newsprint, I color in Photoshop, producing the final state of the days political cartoon.

In short, that's how a political cartoon idea comes into being, develops, and ends up in the newspaper and on the Internet!
Welcome to my blog.

Patrick